Color: Head and trunk covered with yellow spots, mostly round on lower sides but joining to form an irregular anastomosing pattern on upper sides; spots larger than interspaces. Areas between spots bluish above grading to silvery below. A dark brown band under chin, terminating at angle of jaws; lips yellow; a diagonal, diffuse, dark brown patch around eye containing 3 to 5 small black spots just above, and 2 or 3 just below, orbit. Pelvic fins silvery; rays and spines of other fins yellow-orange, their membranes blue to dusky.

Body compressed, not particularly deep, its depth contained 2.2 to 2.4 times in standard length. Anterior profile wedge-shaped, more or less symmetrical about its midline; snout slightly protuberant; anterior nostril with a small flange, produced into a very short peak posteriorly. A forward-directed spine present in front of dorsal fin; longest dorsal spine the 6th or 7th, but only slightly longer than (1.1 to 1.2 times) the last; longest anal spine the 4th or last, these spines more or less subequal,; soft part of dorsal and anal fins high, longest dorsal ray 1.1 to 1.4 times the length of longest dorsal spine; caudal fin prominently forked, the tips of its lobes acutely pointed. Scales minute; cheeks completely covered with fine scales; about 20 scale rows between lateral line and bases of leading dorsal fin spines.